SJ insurance claim problem: 'stolen' car wasn't stolen -- or even his

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A San Jose man has been charged with insurance fraud after filing an $80,000 claim for a stolen car that not only wasn't stolen -- it wasn't his, the Santa Clara County District Attorney said Friday.   

Marcus Hooks filed a vehicle theft report on Aug. 8, 2021, to Fremont police for the loss of a 1968 Oldsmobile 442, the prosecutor's office said.   

Hooks, 50, has been charged with four felony counts of insurance fraud and perjury, the district attorney's office said. He has denied wrongdoing.   

Investigators for the state Department of Insurance said Hooks submitted a false title and false registration to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain documents showing that he owned the car, according to the district attorney's office.   

Hooks is accused of using the false theft report he made to police to file the insurance claim, for which he received $80,000, prosecutors said.   

The actual owner of the car was still in possession of the Oldsmobile and unaware of the ownership switch, the district attorney's office said.